


All I Need To Know

by DKNC



Series: Love, Unexpected [4]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-28
Updated: 2014-03-28
Packaged: 2018-01-17 06:50:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1377886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DKNC/pseuds/DKNC
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So now the wedding is behind them, and Ned and Catelyn begin their married life.</p><p>This particular installment in the series was written as a birthday present for the lovely SomeEnchantedEve.</p><p>Part 4 of Love, Unexpected</p>
            </blockquote>





	All I Need To Know

Looking at herself in the hotel mirror as she rubbed the towel over her hair, Catelyn Stark couldn’t stop smiling. _Stark,_ she thought. _Catelyn Stark. Catelyn Tully Stark, Mrs. Eddard Stark._

“Catelyn Tully Stark,” she said out loud, practicing the sound of it as she put down the towel and reached for her comb. That was Ned’s favorite version. He’d been very amused when he’d found her scribbling down various versions of her name not long after they’d gotten engaged. He’d told her he didn’t care what she called herself as long as he got to call himself her husband, but when she’d pressed him for an opinion he’d pointed to that one. ‘It says that you’re you,’ he’d told her, ‘but that you’re also mine.’

She’d laughed then, and he’d set about proving she was his by making love to her right there on the floor of her apartment living room. Of course, it seemed that a great number of their conversations ended up with their clothes off whenever those conversations took place in suitably private locations, and Catelyn hoped that wasn’t going to end any time soon. Even if they were an old married couple now.

 _Married. I’m married to Ned. I’m Ned’s wife._ She wondered if every bride felt the way she did. She hadn’t been nervous at all, really. Certainly not about marrying Ned. Maybe a little about whether the wedding and reception would go off without problems. And they had! The whole day had been perfect. To her knowledge, the only potential disaster had been Brandon’s drunken confrontation with her after she and Ned had changed clothes to leave the reception. And that hadn’t gone too badly, all things considered. And no one had seen it. She pushed that particular memory from her mind, and returned to staring happily at her reflection.

She had a small bruise at the base of her neck, and she brushed her fingers over it recalling Ned’s lips at her throat last night. He’d drunk more than she’d ever seen him drink before, and it had made him far more reckless and demanding and less concerned about somehow hurting or shocking her in bed, and she’d rather enjoyed it. She hoped she’d have the opportunity to get him to overindulge just a bit again during this mystery honeymoon he was taking her on.

He categorically refused to tell her where they were going, and she had spent any amount of energy trying to get the information out of him, even threatening not to let him touch her until he told. He’d only smirked at that, recognizing it for the empty threat that it was. Her husband already knew her far too well. _Husband. Ned is my husband._

With that delicious thought drifting through her mind, she pulled on the plush hotel robe and walked back into the bedroom where her husband still lay sleeping. She stood at the foot of the bed and looked down at him stretched out on his back, gloriously naked with no covers on him at all. She rarely got to enjoy watching him sleep as he normally rose before she did, and she thought she likely had the alcohol to thank for this gift as well. If he were anyone else, she’d pull at least the sheet over him, but Ned was never cold. He spent as much effort on getting covers off him as she did on pulling them up around her. It made for some interesting blanket arrangements when they slept so closely against each other. 

As she moved her eyes over his body, she was startled by his low growl of a voice. “Good morning, Mrs. Stark. Enjoying the view?”

Her eyes moved back to his face and she grinned in spite of the blush she knew had crept into her cheeks. “Very much so, Mr. Stark. How are you feeling this morning?”

“Like the luckiest sonofabitch on the planet,” he said, sitting up and smiling up at her. “Did you really marry me?”

“Don’t you remember?” she teased. “You must have had even more to drink than I thought.”

Instead of laughing, his face darkened a bit at that. “I remember everything,” he said. “And I am sorry if I was . . .inappropriate at the reception, or if I was . . .too rough with you. Cat, I . . .”

“Shut up, Eddard Stark!” she said, seating herself on his lap and winding her arms around his neck. “You were perfect at the reception. Every woman there was dying to be me!”

He grunted at that, but put his arms around her and kissed her all the same. “As for what went on after the reception,” she whispered in his ear when their lips broke apart, “I think perhaps I understand a bit better why the Starks have a wolf as their company logo.”

“Cat . . .”

“And I like it,” she continued, biting playfully at his earlobe. 

He turned to look at her and seemed reassured that she was telling the truth because his eyes took on that smoky look, and he smiled at her. “If you keep looking at me like that, Cat, we’ll miss our first flight.”

“First flight? We’re taking more than one?” she asked him.

He simply smiled. “Let me up, Cat. We’ve got an hour before the car comes to pick us up. We should probably get breakfast.”

“Who needs breakfast?” she said, trailing her hands down his chest and over his firm abs. “We’re newlyweds. We’ll live on love.”

He laughed. “I can go for that, but you’ll still have to let me up first.”

She pouted at him, but moved off him so that he could get out of bed and go into the bathroom. “Hurry back!” she called after him. “I’m cold!”

“In that thick robe?” he called from the bathroom.

“I’m not wearing it anymore!” She smiled at his laughter as she shucked off the robe and lay back naked on the bed just as she’d discovered him. She did get cold though and pulled a blanket up over her, listening carefully for his return so that she could toss it off.

When he reentered the bedroom, she was reclining back with her arms stretched above her head in much the same position he had held them down with his own hands at one point last night. He stopped dead and stared at her, and both the look on his face and his obviously visible arousal made her heart rate speed up. “Enjoying the view, Mr. Stark?” she smiled up at him.

“God, yes,” he rasped, all but lunging toward the bed. But just before he flung himself down on top of her, he stopped suddenly and a terrible expression came over his face. “Goddamn it!” he said, and he turned away from her.

“Ned! What is it?” She sat up, frightened. He looked so angry and guilty all at once.

He shook his head, standing with his back toward her. “How can you even stand me this morning? You have every right to be furious.”

“What?”

He turned back to face her. “My god, Cat! Look how I bruised you!”

Her first reaction was to laugh. How could anyone get so distraught over a little hickey? “Ned,” she started to say. “You can do that . . .” but then she realized he wasn’t looking at her neck. He was staring in shocked dismay at her right wrist. “Oh,” she said softly. “That.”

“Yes. That.” he said darkly.

She took a deep breath and looked at the bruises on her wrist which had gotten rather purple since last night, and obviously showed the pattern of grasping fingers. Brandon’s thumb had made a particularly dark mark. She hadn’t wanted to discuss this so soon, but she couldn’t let Ned believe he had hurt her. “You didn’t do this, Ned,” she said softly.

“Like hell I didn’t!” he nearly shouted. “I remember very well what I did last night. I held you down and . . .how could I have done something like that to you?”

She got out of the bed then and went to him. “You made love to me, Ned. You are my husband, and all you did here last night was love me. And I more than enjoyed everything you did. If you remember everything, you should recall that while you definitely made me cry out more than once, it was never from pain! You would never hurt me!” She took his hands in hers and looked into his eyes as she spoke to him. “You didn’t cause those bruises, Ned.”

“But I held . . .”

“You held my hands love, not my wrists. And if I’d asked you to let me go, you would have.” She swallowed. “The bruises on my wrist are from earlier.”

“What?” Now he looked almost feral. “Who the hell grabbed you hard enough to leave such marks?”

She covered her face briefly with her hands. “Go get the other robe, Ned. I know you aren’t cold, but I can’t have this conversation with the two of us naked.”

He looked at her wordlessly for a moment, and then went into the bathroom to retrieve the other robe. She pulled her own robe back on and sat down in a chair to wait for him.

When he returned, his eyes were like grey stone, and he didn’t sit down. He merely stood before her waiting for her to speak.

“He didn’t mean to hurt me,” she started.

“Who?”

“It was after you’d gone back out to tell our fathers we were leaving. After we’d . . .” She looked up at him, remembering how he’d pulled her to him after helping her remove her wedding gown and then dropped to his knees, teasing her with his tongue until she moaned out his name, and then picked her up and fucked her breathless against the wall. 

“Our first church sanctioned sex,” he’d laughed when they’d finally caught their breath again. “I hope you’ll forgive me the lack of candlelight or rose petals, but the minute I saw you in that church, there was no way I was going to make it to our hotel!”

She’d laughed. “I’m proud of you for making it through the reception. And if that was any indication of how good married sex is, we should have run off to Vegas the day you asked me to marry you!”

They’d laughed and kissed and helped each other into their street clothes, and now she was going to trash that particular memory for Ned by telling him what happened once he left the room. _God damn you, Brandon!_

“I know very well what we did, Cat,” Ned said now. “What I’d like to know is what happened after I left.”

“Brandon came in,” she said softly. “He was really drunk.”

“My brother did this to you?” The voice was low and Ned’s eyes were as dark as Catelyn had ever seen them.

“He didn’t mean to,” she repeated. “He was . . .confused about things. . .and very drunk . . .and he only wanted to keep me from leaving, and . . .”

“Keep you from leaving? What did he do to you, Cat? What did my goddamn bastard of a brother do to you?”

Ned’s expression actually frightened her now. “Nothing! He touched my hair and went on about whether or not I had married the right brother! It was stupid nonsense, and I told him it was, and he . . .”

“And he grabbed you and held you!” Ned shouted. “He assaulted my wife!”

“He didn’t assault me, Ned! He only . . .”

Ned came and stood right over top of her, reaching for wrists and pulling her up to stand in front of him. “He only what, Catelyn? Only kissed you? Only touched you? You are my wife, damn it! And Brandon has no right to say or do anything to you!”

Ned was really scaring her now, but she looked him right in the eyes. “He only held me a little bit tighter than you are right now,” she firmly, willing herself not to cry.

Ned was still for a fraction of a second, and then he dropped her wrists as if the burned him and his face crumpled. “Oh god! I am sorry! I am so sorry, Cat!” He walked away from her then and didn’t turn to face her again until he was on the far side of the room. “I will never hurt you. I am sorry,” he said then in a choked whisper.

“I know that,” she whispered. “But Ned, you have to let this go. He didn’t really hurt me, and . . .”

“Didn’t really hurt you? I can see the bruises, Catelyn!”

“Yes, I know. He saw them, too, when they were first starting, and he was truly sorry, Ned. He was. I told him I love you. I will always love you, and that he needed to leave because I would never let him hurt you. And now you’re hurt.” She couldn’t stop the tears that started falling then.

He came toward her. “I’m hurt? I’m not the one with bruises here, Cat. I could kill him for hurting you.”

“I know! But he’s your brother, Ned! And you love him. And he’s not a bad person. He’s just . . .Brandon. And he didn’t even really know what he wanted last night any more than he ever has.” They were both silent for a moment. Ned had stopped about halfway to her, and they just looked at each other. “He asked me what I was going to tell you. I said I would tell you the truth.”

“But you didn’t,” Ned accused her then. “You didn’t say anything.”

“No. Because I wanted only happiness on my wedding day. Because I wanted my husband happy in my bed on my wedding night. What would telling you last night have accomplished? Are you happy now, Ned?”

He looked at her. “But you did mean to tell me.” He stated it flatly, but she heard the question in his voice.

“Of course! We don’t lie to each other, Ned. We never have. I don’t intend that we ever will. But I would have put it off longer if I could. Because becoming your wife is the most incredible thing that has ever happened to me, and last night belonged to us. I had no intention of letting anyone steal our joy if I could help it. Especially not Brandon.”

“Especially not Brandon,” he repeated with a bit of a question in the words.

She walked to meet him then and took his hands. “You are still jealous of him, my love. No matter what you say, and regardless of the fact that you have no need to be. I can’t change the past, Ned. I was engaged to Brandon. I’ve slept with Brandon. I thought I was in love with Brandon.” She dropped one of his hands to put her hand over his mouth when he started to speak. “Yes, thought I was. I know now that I didn’t have a clue what love is until I let you into my life.” She sighed, and let her hand slide down from his mouth to his chest. “But the truth is, Ned, that you were right in everything you did to help me come to terms with my past relationship with your brother--emphasis on past--and I am grateful to you for that. But now you have to come to terms with it.”

“I am fine with it Cat. It’s your present and future that I’m interested in.”

“You’re no good at lying, Ned. Not even to yourself. You’re ready to kill Brandon right now, over a silly bruise.”

“A silly bruise? You think that’s okay? Because it isn’t, Cat. It isn’t all right for anyone to hurt you, ever. And any man who uses brute force against a woman . . .”

“Is wrong. I know, Ned,” she said soothingly. “Brandon was wrong. And he knows it. And I don’t care if you confront him about it _after_ we return from Mars or wherever it is we’re going. But you need to acknowledge that at least part of your anger here is because it’s Brandon who touched me.”

He was quiet for a moment as he took her bruised wrist in both of his hands and ran his fingers gently over the marks. “I’d want to kill anybody who hurt you, Cat.” He swallowed. “But you’re right,” he said softly, slowly raising his eyes from her wrist to her face. “I don’t like the idea of him touching you ever. And that is my problem. Not yours.”

“Your problems are mine, Ned,” she said, attempting a smile. “We’re married. Community property, remember?”

He actually did laugh a little at that, even if his eyes were still troubled. “I do love you, Mrs. Stark,” he said. 

“I know it,” she said. “And I love you, Mr. Stark.” She stepped back from him then and let the hotel robe fall to the ground. “Would you like to return to our previously scheduled marital activities?”

His eyes traveled over her naked body, and Catelyn couldn’t help but wonder if his gaze was more from desire for her or a need to check for more bruises, but finally he said, “Lie down on your belly, Mrs. Stark.”

“My belly?” she asked raising her brows. 

“I think you deserve a back rub. You’ve had a stressful experience. You should relax.”

She laughed and lay down on the bed, stretching out on her belly this time with her arms above her. After a moment, she felt his hands massaging her feet. He was always so good at that, using just enough pressure not to tickle, but not enough to hurt. “That’s not my back,” she teased.

“I’m working my way up.” And he did. After a bit, those big hands were on her calf muscles, kneading them softly, and finally moved up to her thighs. At that point she felt him climb onto the bed, straddling her on his knees.

“I think I like this back rub,” she said lazily.

“Mmm,” he said, moving his hands up to massage her buttocks which caused her to move her hips in a little circular motion beneath his hands.

“Oh, God, that feels good, Ned,” she told him. 

He laughed, and one of his hands then found its way down between her thighs to stroke her clit while the other remained on her bottom and she jumped and gave a high pitched squeal.

His laughter was deep and throaty then as he pulled his hand back. “Sorry, Mrs. Stark. Took a little wrong turn, there.”

“I’m not complaining,” she laughed.

She felt him settle himself down on top of her then, sitting on her hips and reaching up with his hands all the way to her shoulders. He massaged those shoulders and then worked his way down along her spine, causing her to feel relaxed and tingly all at the same time. “Where did you learn to do this?” she asked.

“I’m making it up as I go along,” he told her, and then he leaned forward and his mouth joined his hands brushing light kisses all over her back. 

She wiggled beneath him and felt his stiff cocked pressed against her backside. “Ned,” she said, pushing herself up against him. He was driving her crazy, and she wanted him badly now.

He raised up off her, and she started to protest, but then she realized he was reaching down to turn her over beneath him.

She looked up into his face and saw that his eyes had gone her favorite smoky grey, with no hint of the anger that had been there before. _He’s making this about me,_ she thought. His touch now was as gentle as it had been demanding the night before, and she understood what he was trying to tell her. She reached up to him and pulled him down to her.

He kissed her lips briefly and then moved on to her neck, her breasts, her belly--all the while his hands moving over her as well, making her every nerve ending feel like she was on fire. She was panting and pushing herself into his touch, up against his body, desperate for every bit of contact she could get. When he dipped his hands between her legs this time, she nearly came at his first touch. “Please, Ned. I need you,” she gasped, grasping for his cock to guide it where she wanted it.

He let her put him at her opening and then he pushed inside her slowly until he was completely buried within her and he let out a deep breath and laid his head down on her neck. “I love you, Cat,” he whispered, his breath catching as he spoke. 

She could feel him inside her filling her up, feel the weight of him against her body, and feel his beard against her skin. She put her arms around him, holding her against him tightly. “I love you,” she said, thinking that no words could possibly express everything she felt for this man. Then she moved her head to capture his lips with her own, and as they kissed, he began to move inside her.

Both of them lost themselves in the feeling then. His thrusts became deeper and more urgent, and she raised her hips to meet each one. They came almost at the exact same time, crying out and clinging to each other, and then they simply lay there in each other’s arms. Neither of them spoke because words were unnecessary. She’d told him about Brandon’s actions the night before and they’d gotten through his anger and back to each other. She knew perfectly well that Ned would not let it go entirely, and that he would confront his brother at some point, but today once more belonged only to them. They were the only two people in this bed.

Finally, Ned sighed. “If I don’t get in the shower, I won’t be ready when the car comes.”

“I’m afraid I need another shower now, too, Mr. Stark. Although, I’m not washing my hair again. It isn’t even dry yet!”

“It’s beautiful. Just like the rest of you.” He kissed her then and pushed himself up and out of the bed with a sigh.

“Where are we going today, Ned?” she asked lazily, stretching in a way she knew he liked to watch.

“You’ll find out by day’s end,” he said. “I cannot be moved by temptations of the flesh, Mrs. Stark.”

“Yes, you can. I can move you anywhere I want.”

He laughed out loud then. “Yes. You can. But, I’m still not telling you where we’re going.”

She threw a pillow at him and smiled at the sound of his laughter as he walked into the bathroom.

After what seemed like a hundred hours later, she was leaning on her husband’s shoulder at the rail of what seemed to be entirely too small a boat to be skimming over the ocean with no land in view in any direction. The sky was a brilliant blue, and the wind blowing her hair back from her face was delightfully warm.

“Where are we going?” she asked for the millionth time that day.

“You’ll see when we get there,” he said, pulling her close against him with the arm he had around her waist.

“You keep saying that,” she said. “Are we ever going to actually arrive somewhere or are we simply going to sample various modes of transportation forever and ever?”

He laughed at her. “It’s not far now. I promise.” He kissed the top of her head, and she yawned as she snuggled against him.

She’d imagined a million different things they could do in California when they’d boarded the plane for Los Angeles that morning, but recalling he’d indicated they’d be taking more than one flight, she’d thought LAX might just be a layover and she’d been correct. When they’d boarded the plane there for Papeete, she’d squealed with delight and then looked at her husband in shock.

“We’re going to Tahiti? Ned, you hate being hot. You like the snow!”

“We are flying to the capital of Tahiti next. I’ll say no more.”

“Ned! It’s tropical! I’ve never thought of you and tropical in the same sentence!”

He’d sighed then. “I told you to pack shorts and bathing suits. Surely, you didn’t think I was taking you snow skiing.”

“Well, no. But Tahiti?”

“That is where this plane is going.”

“But we may be going somewhere else? Where are we going, Ned?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

She’d done her best to sleep on the flight, but she was simply too excited to do more than drowse briefly, and upon landing a car had been waiting to take them to the waterfront where they’d boarded this boat. It had a crew of six, but she and Ned were the only passengers.

“Do you want to go inside and sit down? You’ve yawned three times in the past ten minutes,” he said now.

She shook her head. “It’s too wonderful out here. It doesn’t even look real.” She yawned at the end of the sentence and they both laughed. “What time is it, anyway?” she asked.

“About four-thirty in the afternoon. But it feels like ten-thirty at night to you and me.” He turned to face her and wrapped both arms around her. “And as I recall, we didn’t do a tremendous amount of sleeping last night, so it’s no wonder you’re tired.”

“What about you?”

“I don’t need sleep. I married the most beautiful, amazing woman in the world yesterday. Sleep is simply time spent not looking at you, and who needs that?”

“You’re so sleepy you’re spouting nonsense, Eddard Stark,” she said with a laugh.

“Maybe. It’s true, though.”

“Look!” she shouted then, pointing at the horizon ahead of them. “Is that an island?”

“Possibly.”

“Ned!” she said, punching his arm. “Is that where we’re going?”

“Possibly.”

She didn’t even bother punching him then. She simply held onto him and watched the spot on the horizon grow larger. Within a few minutes it was evident that it was definitely an island, albeit a tiny one, and the boat was most assuredly headed for it. As they approached, Catelyn realized there was only one tiny dock extending from the shore with no one on it and no building in sight.

“What is this place, Ned?”

“It’s home for the next three weeks if you like it,” he said. “If you don’t, I have several back-up plans.”

She looked at him in wonder. She’d known he’d put a lot of time into this honeymoon planning, but back-up plans?

The crewmen busied themselves tying up the boat, and then gave Ned the go ahead to take Catelyn ashore. There were trees growing nearly right up to the edge of the dock, and once they walked past them, Catelyn could see there was a little gravel road that wove its way through the forest. A man stood there beside a jeep which looked like something out of a very old movie. “Mr. and Mrs. Stark! Welcome!” he greeted them, smiling as he opened the door of the jeep.

“Ned, what is this place?” Catelyn whispered as they drove along the very bumpy road, winding their way uphill. 

“Wait and see.”

“You’re infuriating,” she huffed. “But it is beautiful here.”

“It’s hot.”

“Oh, god, if I’m going to have to listen to that for three weeks, you’d better tell me about your backup plans.”

He laughed, but before he could reply she grabbed his arm and pointed. They had crested the hill, and the Pacific lay below them, sparkling like a sapphire in the sun which was low in the western sky. Directly ahead of them stood a house which appeared to made of nothing but windows.

“Oh. My. God,” Catelyn breathed.

“Do you like it?”

“Like it?” She looked from the sea to the house to her husband beside her. “We’re really staying here?”

“We really are. If you like it.”

She practically jumped into his lap as she threw her arms around him, and the driver, whose name was Martin laughed. “I think she likes it, Mr. Stark.”

She leapt out of the jeep as soon as it came to a halt, anxious to explore the house. It wasn’t terribly large--just a single great room which was open to a kitchen and small dining area on the first floor. A winding staircase led to two bedrooms upstairs. The smaller one was nice enough, but the master was at least twice as big as the bedroom in her apartment and had the twin luxuries of a king sized bed and nearly ceiling to floor windows on three sides. Every window offered spectacular views of the island and the ocean. From one of those windows she also spotted the infinity pool behind the house and gave another squeal of delight.

“You can see the whole island from here!” she exclaimed. “Ned, it’s like heaven!” She walked around the bedroom slowly taking in the views. “What else is on this island?” she asked finally.

“Nothing,” he answered. “Well, there’s a small house down the other side of the hill. You can’t see it from here, but it belongs to Martin and his wife. They live here year round. Monique is a phenomenal cook. She’ll be making dinners for us. We’re on our own for breakfast and lunch, but the kitchen’s well stocked. You’ve seen the pool, and there are two really nice beaches. One’s an easy bike ride from here. Oh, there are bikes in the shed. The other requires the jeep unless you’re up for a pretty demanding hike.”

“What is this place exactly?”

“It belongs to one of my dad’s oldest business associates. Man has more money than God.”

“More money than your father?” Catelyn asked, raising her brow.

Ned laughed. “I’ll remember to tell Dad you compared him to God. He’ll like that. But, yes, lots more money than Dad. More like Tywin Lannister without the need for public recognition. Anyway, the owner invited us here once when we were kids. I remembered it, and thought you’d like it. Lya thought it was a brilliant idea. We talked to Dad, and he talked to the owner.”

“And he let you have it for three weeks?”

“He let me _rent_ it for three weeks. There’s a reason he has more money than God.” Before she could ask, he laughed. “He gave me a much better rate than he normally charges people. I can afford it, Cat.” He smiled at her. “I mean we can afford it. Community property, and all.”

She stood there stunned that he had done this for her. 

“Do you like it?” he asked almost shyly.

“I love it, and I love you,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck. “I cannot believe this is real. Three weeks in this place?”

“Well, there isn’t any cell service here. No internet, either, I’m afraid. There’s a radio downstairs and another at Martin and Monique’s house we can use to contact Papeete. The boat comes once every two weeks, although I can charter a boat to come and get us the minute you want to leave. There are lots of very nice resorts in and around Tahiti if you get tired of just looking at me all day. That’s what I meant by back-up plans. If you want nightlife and dancing, or just people, we can stay somewhere else. I love the idea of having you entirely to myself for three weeks, but if you . . .”

She shut him up by kissing him.

An hour later, she had confirmation that Ned had not exaggerated Monique’s cooking skills. Unlike her husband, the petite woman spoke very little English, but Catelyn’s French was much better than Ned’s so she could communicate with her pretty well. After dinner, she’d refused Catelyn’s offer of help, so Catelyn had sat outside with Ned to watch the sunset. 

“I feel decadent,” she said. “Monique wouldn’t let me lift a finger. And Martin wouldn’t let you help him carry any of our bags in.”

“That’s their job, my love. They are supposed to make you feel decadent.” He leaned over and kissed her. “If it makes you feel better, you can get up and cook breakfast in the morning, although I’ll be fine with a bagel and a cup of coffee.”

She laughed and yawned once more. “It feels ridiculous to want to go to sleep before 8pm, but I am exhausted.”

“We have three weeks to get over the jet lag. Come on, Cat. Let’s go to bed.”

They held hands as they walked up the stairs, and Catelyn shook her head as she saw their clothes hanging up in the closet. She hadn’t unpacked, and she doubted that Martin had done that, so Monique must have been up here spoiling them as well.

“I bet the rest of our things are already in those drawers, too,” she said.

“No doubt you’re right. I’m going to see if my toothbrush is in a holder in the bathroom,” he said with a laugh. A moment later, he called back to her. “Apparently, she draws the line at unpacking toiletries. My shaving kit’s in here, all right, but everything’s still in it.”

She laughed, pulling off her clothes and wondering if there was somewhere special she was supposed to put them. Then he called out again.

“Cat? Is your little green case out there?”

“My make-up bag? Isn’t it in the bathroom?”

“No. You might want to grab it and bring it in here, though. Isn’t your toothbrush in that?”

“Yes.” She got up and looked around the room, checking in every drawer and in every little cubby. “Ned, it’s not here! It was in the smaller of my two bags, you know--the one with my shoes and the hairdryer, and stuff like that.”

He came back into the bedroom wearing nothing but his boxers. “It has to be here somewhere,” he said. “I think Martin put the empty luggage in a closet downstairs. I’ll see if the case just got left in your bag.”

She went in to search the bathroom, and he went back downstairs. There was a hairdryer, but it wasn’t hers. Nothing of hers was there. Back in the bedroom, she went to search the closet and realized the only shoes there were the sneakers she’d put in her carry-on in case her feet got cold on the plane in her sandals. When Ned returned, she wasn’t surprised when he said, “Cat, your small bag isn’t there. Only the great big one.”

“Maybe it was left in the jeep?” she said hopefully, and Ned pulled his pants back on to go outside and check, but when he came back, he hadn’t found it. 

“Here,” he said. “Use my toothbrush tonight and we’ll check with Martin and Monique in the morning.”

“I have to wash my make-up off, Ned. It’s been on my face for about a million hours now.”

“Well, my love, I know you normally use super special face magic or whatever, but I do have some soap which you are welcome to use for the night.”

She laughed at him, and went into the bathroom to make do with her husband’s paltry selection of personal care items before falling into bed. Both of them fell asleep within moments.

In spite of their exhaustion, their bodies were still on Washington time, and they found themselves up and moving prior to 6am. Catelyn brushed her teeth with Ned’s toothbrush once more and did make pancakes for the two of them with what she found in the kitchen. After they ate, Ned took the jeep down to Martin and Monique’s while she searched the house again for her make-up case, thinking that they might have overlooked it in their overtired state. It wasn’t there.

Refusing to let it ruin her mood, Catelyn put on a swimsuit and wandered out to the infinity pool to wait for Ned’s return. The water was wonderful, and she cheerfully called out to him when she heard him return.

“Get your swimsuit on, Mr. Stark!”

He appeared from the back door of the house momentarily, still dressed in t-shirt and shorts and carrying a large plastic bag. “I have good news and bad news, my love.”

“Yes?”

“The bad news is that your second bag apparently didn’t make it onto the boat. We’ve been on the radio, and we’re not entirely certain it even made it onto the plane in LAX.”

“Ned!” she said, dismayed.

“There’s good news!” he said quickly. “Monique apparently stockpiles face and hair and skin stuff since she doesn’t want to run out when the boat’s not due. Look!” He indicated the bag, and she climbed from the pool and grabbed her towel, not missing his appreciative look at her swimsuit as she dried off.

“Let’s see what we have here,” she said. She found a toothbrush right away. She also found cleansers and moisturizers and lotion and shampoo and sunscreen--all with French labels and not brands she knew--but she supposed they would do perfectly well for three weeks. “There’s no makeup here,” she said.

“I told her not to bother with it,” he said. “I think you’re stunning without it, and no one else is here. If you get sick of this place, we can always buy you whatever you want back in civilization.”

She laughed. “I suppose that will work. And as long as it’s just the two of us here, I hardly need all the shoes to go with the fancy dresses I won’t need to wear.” She smiled at him. “Or if you do want me to dress up for dinner, I can always go barefoot! Now go get your swimsuit on, Mr. Stark. This pool is wonderful.”

“I don’t need a swimsuit, Mrs. Stark,” he said suggestively, and proceeded to undress right there beside the pool.

“Ned!” Catelyn admonished him.

“There is a reason Martin and Monique’s house is not visible from this one, Cat. It’s to keep this one from being visible from there. Unless we specifically request it, neither of them will come here until it’s time for dinner, and no one else is on this island.” He looked at her, moving his eyes over her entire body. “Now, as much as I like that green bikini, I think you are currently overdressed, young lady.”

She grinned at him. “You want me out of this bikini? Come and get me.” With that, she turned and dove back into the pool swimming swiftly to the opposite side as he splashed in after her in all his naked glory.

She was a much better swimmer, but she could only get so far away from him in the pool, and he was simply bigger and stronger so he caught her after a few moments.

“What was that you were saying?” he said, as she tried to wiggle out of his arms. 

“Let go of me,” she laughed, as he tugged at her bikini bottom with one hand while holding her tightly with his other arm. Her struggles became pretty half hearted, however, as rubbing against him in the cool water felt unbelievably good, and she didn’t really want him to let her go.

He recognized that, of course, and took the opportunity to kiss her soundly while untying her top. Soon, both pieces of her bathing suit had been flung up onto the edge of the pool and there was nothing between them. She felt him harden against her belly, and she reached down to stroke him. When he moaned in response, she got a completely crazy idea and took a deep breath before diving under the water and putting her mouth on him, teasing the end of his cock with her tongue for just a few seconds before she had to come back to the surface for air. The expression on his face as he stood there made her laugh.

“Liked that, did you?” she asked him.

“My god, Cat. Every time I think you can’t possibly surprise me more, you do,” he breathed.

At that, she dove back under the water, but this time when she took him in her mouth, his hips jerked in an involuntary thrust, and she had to surface right away to keep from gasping in water. He held her up against him. “I’m sorry, Cat. It’s just . . .you feel amazing.” He stroked the sides of her face and pushed back the wet hair stuck to her cheeks. “I’ll not have you drown for my enjoyment, however.”

He picked her up then and before she quite knew what he was doing, he carried her to the side of the pool where he seated her on the edge and put her legs over his shoulders. He then bent his head to put his mouth between her legs and proceeded to use his lips and tongue until she threw her head back and screamed his name as her feet kicked at his back splashing water above him. She collapsed back onto the sun warmed tiles around the pool, breathing hard. “Liked that, did you?” she heard him ask.

She pushed herself up on her elbows and saw him looking at her with those smoky eyes, her legs still draped over his shoulders. She moved her legs now, pulling them out of the pool to stand there at the edge and look down at him, still a little shaky on her feet after what he’d just done to her. “Last one to bed’s a rotten egg,” she challenged him.

“Bed?” he asked. “You want to go inside?”

“I want to stay naked,” she answered. “And that sun is getting hot, and neither of us is wearing sunscreen.” She leaned down as close as she dared without risking him pulling her back into the pool. “I want you, Eddard Stark,” she said as seductively as she knew how. “I want you right now. But I’m not spending the next few days in sunburned misery to have you.” With that, she turned and fled into the house and up the staircase, knowing he’d be right on her heels.

They spent the next few hours in bed, making love three times, drowsing comfortably, and talking about the most ridiculous array of topics ever. They somehow managed to skip lunch entirely and were famished when Monique arrived to cook their dinner. After dinner and two bottles of wine, they went for another swim, not bothering with swimsuits or sunscreen as Monique had left and the sun was near setting, and this time they did make love outside on the very nice cushioned lounge chair beside the pool. Catelyn had Ned lie back and she straddled him, riding him until both of them were completely sated. Then she lay down beside him, and they watched the stars come out.

“I don’t ever want to leave here,” she said, lying there with her head on his chest. The night air was a bit cool but she was warm enough against him.

“Neither do I, but I don’t know that we can keep up this pace.”

She laughed. “It reminds me of that first day. Back in my apartment. When you asked me to marry you, remember?”

“I’m not likely to forget it,” he said, toying with her hair. “I had been dreaming of making love to you for years, and there I was actually doing it. And doing it. And doing it. And . . .”

She smacked his chest, and he laughed. “Tomorrow, we’ll ride the bikes down to the beach. You’ll like it there.”

“How old were you when you were here before? You seem to remember it awfully well.”

“About thirteen. Brandon sulked most of the trip because there was “nothing to do” by which he meant no girls. Lya loved everything about it. I don’t think there’s a place on the island she didn’t drag me or Brandon to. Ben was only five or six so none of us wanted to get stuck taking care of him, poor little guy.”

“What about you? You said you brought me here because you thought I’d like it. Did you like it?”

“Well, it is hot.”

She smacked his chest again.

“But yes, I liked it. I liked the very thing Brandon hated. There was no one here. Just the sky and the trees and the water and all the people I loved best in the world. I liked that.” He twisted to look at her in the dim light from the decorative lanterns that came on automatically around the pool. “That’s what I wanted. To share a beautiful place with the person I love best in the world. And to share you with no one for awhile.”

“I love you, Ned. I will never be able to say just how much I love you.”

He brushed her hair back again with his hand. “Then you’ll just have to keep showing me. I enjoy being convinced.”

She laughed. “Well then, take me to bed, Mr. Stark,” she said, yawning and stretching against him lazily. “Perhaps I’ll find the energy to convince you one more time before I pass out.”

He laughed and held her hand to walk back into the house where they discovered that they did have the energy after all. They moved slowly and lazily, but it was sweet and wonderful all the same, and they actually slept until past seven the next morning.

Ned got up first. He decreed it was his turn to do breakfast so he had already gone downstairs by the time Catelyn wandered into the bathroom to shower and moisturize with all her borrowed items. As she was finishing her morning routine, she gasped, realizing what she hadn’t done yesterday and what she couldn’t do today. Remembering what else had been in her little green case. “Oh my god,” she whispered aloud.

She felt almost unreal as she dressed and walked down to join Ned. She could smell bacon frying and heard her husband humming off tune. She bit her lip, wondering how he would react. He looked up smiling as she approached, but she must have looked as upset as she felt because he immediately laid down his spatula and rushed over to her.

“Cat! What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“My green case,” she said stupidly. “They were in the my green case.”

“What was in your green case, Cat?”

She looked up at him. “My birth control pills. I didn’t take one yesterday.”

He swallowed. “One day. What are the chances . . .”

“I take the lowest dose. They work just fine, but you’re supposed to use a backup method if you miss even one.” She looked up at him. “And even if yesterday was okay . . .Ned, what do we do now?” 

“Well . . .I suppose I could ask Martin if he has any condoms,” he said doubtfully.

“You don’t have any?”

“No! Why would I? We’ve never used them because you’re on the pill. I’ve no reason to carry the things anymore.”

She sat down and put her face in her hands. “Oh god, I’ve ruined our perfect honeymoon!”

“You have not! You haven’t done anything. The airline lost your bag, Cat. You didn’t lose it. We’ll . . .we’ll . . .we can always go with oral sex or pull and pray.” He gave her a half-hearted smile.

“And what if I get pregnant anyway? What if I already did? Ned, you hear all the time about people who get pregnant after one time. What if I got pregnant after missing one pill?”

He knelt down in front of her. “Then we’ll have a baby,” he said. “The world’s most beautiful baby with auburn hair and blue eyes just like yours.”

She laughed in spite of herself. “He could look like you, you know. I’d like that.”

“Or he could be a she. I’d like that fine, too.”

“Ned, we’re talking like we actually want a baby. That’s crazy.”

“I do, Cat. Maybe I hadn’t planned on one right now, but if it happens, I’ll be okay with it. I’ll be happy about it. Terrified a little, maybe. But very happy. I swear it.”

She looked at him and could see the truth of his words in his eyes. They’d talked about children, of course. They both wanted at least three, maybe four. Having grown up with siblings, they wanted their kids to do the same, but they certainly hadn’t discussed having children right away. _Do I want children this soon? Do I definitely not want children right now?_

“Cat? What do you want to do?” he asked her gently. “I can order a charter boat and we can spend the rest of our honeymoon at a resort. Or maybe even come back here for the last week when the regular boat comes back. But none of the really good resorts are in Papeete, and . . .”

“I don’t want to go anywhere,” she said, suddenly certain of her decision. 

“What?”

“I want these three weeks, Ned. It’s like you said. I want to share a beautiful place with the person I love most in the world. And I don’t want to share you. And if loving you the way that I do brings me another person to love . . .well, that can’t be a bad thing, can it?” 

Her husband took her hands and looked at her. “Are you sure, Cat?”

“I’m sure I love you,” she said. “I’m sure I will love you for the rest of my life. And I’m sure I want to have your children. The rest of it’s just details.” She smiled at him. “I’d rather be distracted by you than by details.”

“All right then.” He stood up and pulled her up into his arms, giving her a long deep kiss which somehow communicated more than words could. He smiled at her then. “I believe I promised to show you the beach, Mrs. Stark. Come and eat this breakfast I hope I haven’t burned, and then I’ll get the bikes.”

“And I’ll make us a lunch. And get the sunscreen.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Ned said, and he turned back to the kitchen.

“Any plan is a good one for me as long as it involves you,” she said softly.

He turned around and smiled at her again. “I feel the same way.”

As she sat down at the table and allowed her husband to serve her breakfast, Catelyn still wasn’t certain if she actually hoped she might get pregnant or hoped she wouldn’t. If she didn’t get pregnant, she wasn’t certain if she’d go back on birth control pills once they got home or not. But she did know that she loved her husband and he loved her. They had three weeks stretching out ahead of them to do nothing but enjoy each other and a lifetime ahead of them to enjoy everything that love brought to them. And that was all she really needed to know.


End file.
